Many faces have come and gone during the insider trading case of imprisoned former Qwest CEO Joe Nacchio, who is slated to receive a new sentence Thursday. Under one methodology U.S. District Judge Marcia Krieger is considering, Nacchio would receive a shorter prison term. Here’s a look at the cast of characters who are here and those who have left since the 2007 trial.

Hanging tough

Government:

James Hearty – The assistant U.S. attorney delivered the trial’s opening statement. Hearty (pictured) has been involved in the case since the very beginning.

Kevin Traskos – The assistant U.S. attorney handled the cross-examination of Nacchio’s expert witness Daniel Fischel during trial. Traskos has also filed much of the paperwork related to the re-sentencing.

Anjan Thakor – New to the case, Thakor is a finance professor at Washington University in St. Louis who is serving as the government’s expert witness during Nacchio’s re-sentencing. He says Nacchio illegally gained between $23.5 million to $32.9 million.

Nacchio:

Sean Berkowitz – He was a lead attorney in the Justice Department’s successful prosecution of former Enron honchos Jeff Skilling, serving time at a prison in Littleton, and Ken Lay, who passed away in July 2006, which vacated his conviction. Berkowitz (pictured), now a partner in Chicago with Latham & Watkins, joined Nacchio’s team in 2008. He has a Vin Diesel-like persona in the courtroom and is now Nacchio’s lead attorney.

Daniel Fischel – The Northwestern University business law professor served as an expert witness for Nacchio during trial and is serving in the same capacity during the re-sentencing. He says Nacchio gained $1.8 million from the nonpublic information on which Nacchio based the stock sales that led to his conviction.

Long gone

Government:Cliff Stricklin – Lead trial attorney is now a defense attorney with HRO in Denver. He was previously with Holland & Hart.Read more…

At the start of Tuesday’s quite stunning court hearing in Denver – where Joe Nacchio surfaced with a drastically different look – U.S. District Judge Marcia Krieger asked the former Qwest CEO how to pronounce his name.

Here’s the exchange:

KRIEGER: As I indicated, this matter the before the Court for purposes of advising — is it Mr. “Nach-i-o” or “Naush-i-o”?

NACCHIO: I usually use the second pronunciation.

KRIEGER: “Naush-i-o.”

NACCHIO: “Nash-yo.”

KRIEGER: “Nash-yo.” Thank you.

Over the years, most people – journalists (including myself), analysts, employees – have used “Nach-i-o.” Some have used “Nash-i-o.” I don’t think I’ve ever heard anyone say “Nash-yo.”

At the start of Tuesday’s quite stunning court hearing in Denver – where Joe Nacchio surfaced with a drastically different look – U.S. District Judge Marcia Krieger asked the former Qwest CEO how to pronounce his name.

Here’s the exchange:

KRIEGER: As I indicated, this matter the before the Court for purposes of advising — is it Mr. “Nach-i-o” or “Naush-i-o”?

NACCHIO: I usually use the second pronunciation.

KRIEGER: “Naush-i-o.”

NACCHIO: “Nash-yo.”

KRIEGER: “Nash-yo.” Thank you.

Over the years, most people – journalists (including myself), analysts, employees – have used “Nach-i-o.” Some have used “Nash-i-o.” I don’t think I’ve ever heard anyone say “Nash-yo.”

At the start of Tuesday’s quite stunning court hearing in Denver – where Joe Nacchio surfaced with a drastically different look – U.S. District Judge Marcia Krieger asked the former Qwest CEO how to pronounce his name.

Here’s the exchange:

KRIEGER: As I indicated, this matter the before the Court for purposes of advising — is it Mr. “Nach-i-o” or “Naush-i-o”?

NACCHIO: I usually use the second pronunciation.

KRIEGER: “Naush-i-o.”

NACCHIO: “Nash-yo.”

KRIEGER: “Nash-yo.” Thank you.

Over the years, most people – journalists (including myself), analysts, employees – have used “Nach-i-o.” Some have used “Nash-i-o.” I don’t think I’ve ever heard anyone say “Nash-yo.”

In a court filing Wednesday, Joe Nacchio’s attorney provided a glimpse of what the former Qwest CEO has been up to behind bars.

“He has taken a number of classes as well as been involved in a number of religious activities,” Nacchio attorney Sean Berkowitz wrote in the filing.

Nacchio has “had no disciplinary problems during his incarceration” and has been actively involved in his pending legal matters – which includes his resentencing, according to Berkowitz.

Since April 2009, Nacchio has resided at Schuylkill prison camp in Minersville, Pa., serving a six-year term for insider trading.

“Counsel has spoken with Mr. Nacchio on a weekly or even more frequent basis for more than two years regarding his sentencing, appeal, resentencing, and the upcoming hearings, including during his incarceration over the past year,” Berkowitz wrote in Wednesday’s filing. “Moreover, counsel met personally with Mr. Nacchio on March 31, 2010, just two weeks ago, and discussed this same issue.”

In a court filing Wednesday, Joe Nacchio’s attorney provided a glimpse of what the former Qwest CEO has been up to behind bars.

“He has taken a number of classes as well as been involved in a number of religious activities,” Nacchio attorney Sean Berkowitz wrote in the filing.

Nacchio has “had no disciplinary problems during his incarceration” and has been actively involved in his pending legal matters – which includes his resentencing, according to Berkowitz.

Since April 2009, Nacchio has resided at Schuylkill prison camp in Minersville, Pa., serving a six-year term for insider trading.

“Counsel has spoken with Mr. Nacchio on a weekly or even more frequent basis for more than two years regarding his sentencing, appeal, resentencing, and the upcoming hearings, including during his incarceration over the past year,” Berkowitz wrote in Wednesday’s filing. “Moreover, counsel met personally with Mr. Nacchio on March 31, 2010, just two weeks ago, and discussed this same issue.”

In a court filing Wednesday, Joe Nacchio’s attorney provided a glimpse of what the former Qwest CEO has been up to behind bars.

“He has taken a number of classes as well as been involved in a number of religious activities,” Nacchio attorney Sean Berkowitz wrote in the filing.

Nacchio has “had no disciplinary problems during his incarceration” and has been actively involved in his pending legal matters – which includes his resentencing, according to Berkowitz.

Since April 2009, Nacchio has resided at Schuylkill prison camp in Minersville, Pa., serving a six-year term for insider trading.

“Counsel has spoken with Mr. Nacchio on a weekly or even more frequent basis for more than two years regarding his sentencing, appeal, resentencing, and the upcoming hearings, including during his incarceration over the past year,” Berkowitz wrote in Wednesday’s filing. “Moreover, counsel met personally with Mr. Nacchio on March 31, 2010, just two weeks ago, and discussed this same issue.”

Federal prosecutors want imprisoned former Qwest chief executive Joe Nacchio to show up in Denver federal court when he receives a new sentence June 24.

Nacchio’s presence at the hearing would help achieve some of the goals of sentencing, such as “having the defendant personally receive the
official expression of the condemnation of his conduct, showing confidence in the justness of the sentence, promoting respect for the law, promoting deterrence and treating victims fairly,” Assistant U.S. attorney Kevin Traskos wrote in a court document filed Monday.

Nacchio’s attorneys had previously waived his right to appear at the resentencing. Convicted on 19 counts of insider trading in 2007, Nacchio began serving a six-year prison term in April at a federal prison camp in Pennsylvania.

A jury found Nacchio guilty of illegally selling $52 million in Qwest stock in early 2001 based on material, insider information.

In July 2009, a federal appeals court ordered a new sentence for Nacchio, ruling that the trial judge miscalculated Nacchio’s gains during the initial sentencing. The sentence is based, in part, on the amount of money Nacchio is determined to have illegally gained from having the insider information, which included warnings from senior executives that Qwest’s financial health was deteriorating.

In waiving his right to physically appear at sentencing, Nacchio cited the case of Adelphia founder John Rigas and his son, Timothy, who appeared at their resentencing hearing via videoconferencing from prison in 2008.

Prosecutors said the videoconferencing option is not available under 10th Circuit rules, which covers Colorado. They also noted that John Rigas was over 80 years old and had health problems, including bladder cancer.

John Rigas had his 15-year sentence for securities fraud and other charges cut to 12 years. Timothy Rigas had his reduced from 20 years to 17 years.

Traskos noted that Nacchio didn’t give a reason for why he shouldn’t attend the sentencing.

“Given the lack of any such reason, it might create the impression of
unfairness to allow the defendant to skip his sentencing,” Traskos wrote in the court filing.

UPDATE: (01-13-2010) So Nacchio’s attorneys are arguing that his combined forfeiture and fines should not exceed $3.6 million $5.4 million ($3.6 million in fines plus $1.8 million in forfeitures) and that his sentence should be as short as six months. That’s based on a sentencing statement filed late Tuesday.
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In addition to receiving a six-year prison term, former Qwest chief Joe Nacchio was ordered to forfeit the $52 million in ill-gotten gains for his insider trading conviction.

As part of a resentencing ordered by the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals, prosecutors and Nacchio’s attorneys now agree that the forfeiture amount should be cut to $44.6 million. The new figure takes into account stock-option fees and other costs. It doesn’t factor in taxes paid.

Here is the agreement that was filed in court today, with a breakdown of the proceeds for each of the 19 counts on which he was convicted. U.S. District Judge Marcia Krieger still has to approve the new forfeiture amount.

Nacchio was also ordered to pay $19 million fines – $1 million per count – a figure that is not under review.

By the way, Nacchio’s last pending appeal of the conviction was rejected today.

A federal judge will resentence former Qwest chief executive Joe Nacchio with the typical two-step process, but will not redo every element of the initial sentencing.

U.S. District Judge Marcia Krieger (pictured) said in a court filing Friday that she will not allow either side to object to portions of the initial sentence that weren’t overturned by the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals. She notes that the appeals court only reversed the sentence with “respect to its gain calculation and its forfeiture determination.”

The gain calculation, however, impacts the prison term. Therefore, a lower gain amount may result in a lighter sentence for Nacchio, who is serving a six-year term at a federal prison camp in Pennsylvania for his conviction on 19 counts of insider trading. The appeals court strongly suggested that the six-year sentence was excessive.

A new sentencing date has not be scheduled.

Nacchio’s attorneys had argued that he should be sentenced anew, with the entire process redone. Krieger said that won’t be the case.

The court “will not consider new or re-asserted objections to the original Pre-sentence Investigation Report, requests for Guideline departures, or arguments with regard to the fine,” Krieger wrote in her order.

The first phase of the resentencing will determine the range of his prison term as stated by federal guidelines, which considers the amount of money that Nacchio gained from the illegal insider trades, information from the pre-sentence investigation report, Nacchio’s background and other factors.

Andy Vuong joined The Denver Post as a business reporter in 2000 after graduating from the University of Colorado at Boulder with a news-editorial degree. His primary beats are gambling, telecommunications and technology. Over the years, his coverage has included everything from aviation to federal courts.